Pre-Columbian America and Early European Exploration Flashcards

Flashcards about Pre-Columbian America, Exploration, Colonization and Colonial Life

How did the first people arrive in the Americas?

Via the Bering Land Bridge, which connected Siberia and Alaska during the last Ice Age (~15,000-20,000 years ago).

What is the name given to the early migrants who spread across North and South America?

Paleo-Indians

What farming technique was practiced by the Aztecs?

Chinampa farming (floating gardens).

What was the capital city of the Aztec civilization, built on a lake?

Tenochtitlán (modern-day Mexico City).

What type of religious practice was common in the Aztecs?

Polytheistic, practiced human sacrifice for religious rituals.

Which Mesoamerican civilization developed the first writing system in the Americas?

Maya

What was the writing system developed by the Maya called?

Glyphs

Name a major city-state built by the Maya.

Tikal or Chichen Itza

What Civilization created a 365-day calendar?

Maya

What was the capital of the Inca Empire?

Cuzco

What is the famous Inca city located high in the Andes Mountains?

Machu Picchu

What type of farming did the Inca develop to cultivate crops in the mountains?

Terrace farming

What was the extensive road system built by the Inca used for?

Connect the empire (approximately 25,000 miles).

What did the Inca use for record-keeping instead of a writing system?

Quipu (knotted strings)

What was the largest city of the Mississippian culture?

Cahokia (Illinois)

What were the mounds built by the Mississippians used for?

Religious, political, and social purposes.

Name the tribes that formed the Iroquois Confederacy.

Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, later Tuscarora (Haudenosaunee)

How did the Iroquois Confederacy influence the U.S. Constitution?

Developed an early democratic government.

What kind of society did the Iroquois have, where women held significant political power?

Matrilineal society

What animal was the primary resource for nomadic hunters of the Great Plains?

Bison (buffalo)

What type of dwelling did the nomadic tribes of the Great Plains use for easy mobility?

Teepees

Who introduced horses to the Great Plains, transforming the way of life for the indigenous people?

The Spanish

Name some of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest.

Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Taos

What is the name given to the Ancestral Puebloans who built cliff dwellings like Mesa Verde?

Anasazi

What agricultural technique was used by the Southeast tribes?

Grew corn, beans, and squash ("Three Sisters" agriculture).

What resource did the Pacific Northwest tribes rely on for their survival?

Fishing (salmon)

What is animism?

The idea that nature (animals, rivers, mountains) has a spirit.

Who played an important role in healing and rituals in Indigenous societies?

Shamans or spiritual leaders

Tracing ancestry through the mother's side is known as what?

Matrilineal society

Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal funded what?

Exploration schools and voyages along Africa's coast

Which explorer was the first European to reach the southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope)?

Bartolomeu Dias (1488)

Which explorer was the first European to reach India by sea, creating a direct trade route?

Vasco da Gama (1498)

Who sponsored Christopher Columbus' voyage in 1492?

Spain's Ferdinand and Isabella

Where did Christopher Columbus land, believing he was in India?

The Caribbean (Bahamas)

Which explorer led the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe?

Ferdinand Magellan (1519-1522)

Who conquered the Aztec Empire (Mexico)?

Hernán Cortés (1519)

Who conquered the Inca Empire (Peru)?

Francisco Pizarro (1532)

Which explorer claimed Newfoundland for England in 1497?

John Cabot

Which explorer explored the St. Lawrence River (Canada) in 1534?

Jacques Cartier

Which explorer explored the Hudson River and Hudson Bay?

Henry Hudson (Dutch & English, early 1600s)

After whom is the Columbian Exchange named?

Christopher Columbus

Name some diseases that were transferred from the Old World to the New World during the Columbian Exchange.

Smallpox, measles, flu

Name some crops that were transferred from the New World to the Old World during the Columbian Exchange.

Potatoes, maize (corn), tomatoes, cacao (chocolate), and tobacco.

How much of the Native American population was killed by diseases after the Columbian Exchange?

90% mortality in some areas.

What impact did the introduction of horses have on Native American culture, particularly in the Great Plains?

It changed Native American culture (especially in the Great Plains).

What did the decline of Indigenous labor and the demand for cash crops lead to?

The expansion of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Name some of the goods that were sent from Europe to Africa in exchange for enslaved people.

Manufactured goods (guns, textiles, rum)

What was the name of the brutal voyage from Africa to the Americas?

The Middle Passage

What percentage of enslaved people died during the Middle Passage?

15-20%

What were the long-term effects of the slave trade on Africa?

Devastated populations, increased warfare, and loss of millions of young men and women.

What did the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) do?

Divided the world between Spain and Portugal for land claims in the New World.

What system was established to use forced Indigenous Labor in the Spanish Colonies?

The Encomienda System

What was the name of church settlements built by missionaries to convert Indigenous people?

Missions

What was the racial hierarchy developed in Spanish colonies called?

The Casta System

Which European power focused on fur trading and established friendly alliances with Indigenous groups in North America?

French colonization

Which present-day state was known as New Netherland during Dutch colonization?

New York

Which European power established permanent settler colonies along the East Coast of North America?

English Colonization

What was the Pueblo Revolt?

The Pueblo people (New Mexico) revolted against Spanish rule.

Who led the Pueblo Revolt?

Popé

Who led a Native alliance against English settlers in New England during King Philip's War?

Metacom (King Philip)

What was the result of the Anglo-Dutch Wars in North America?

England seized New Netherland from the Dutch (renamed New York).

Which city was the first permanent English colony in North America?

Jamestown (1607)

What saved Jamestown from failure?

Tobacco introduced by John Rolfe, which became a cash crop.

What was the Headright System?

Wealthy settlers got 50 acres for each laborer they brought over.

What was the Act of Toleration in Maryland (1649)?

It granted religious freedom to all Christians.

Which colony was founded by James Oglethorpe as a buffer against Spanish Florida?

Georgia (1733)

What was the Mayflower Compact?

First example of self-government in the colonies. Agreed to make decisions based on majority rule.

Who envisioned a 'City Upon a Hill' for the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

John Winthrop

Which colony was founded by Roger Williams based on the principle of separation of church and state?

Rhode Island (1636)

What was the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut?

The first written constitution in America.

What was the main focus of economy (beside the slave-based southern farms) in the region of New England

Small-scale farming, fishing, shipbuilding, and trade

What colony was known as the "Holy Experiment"?

Pennsylvania (1681)

Who founded Pennsylvania as a religious refuge for Quakers?

William Penn

What was Pennyslvania known as?

The "Breadbasket Colony"

What was the name given to the policy implemented by England that allowed the colonies to govern themselves as long as they remained profitable?

Salutary Neglect

Who played a significant role in the First Great Awakening?

Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

What was the Zenger Trial (1735) about, and what principle did it establish?

John Peter Zenger, a newspaper printer, was arrested for criticizing the governor. His acquittal established freedom of the press.

What was the brutal voyage across the Atlantic endured by enslaved Africans?

The Middle Passage

List the cities that became major colonial economic centers

Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Charleston

What was the purpose of the Navigation Acts implemented by Britain?

To control colonial trade and ensure that it only benefitted England.

What rebellion was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley in Virginia?

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)